-Flashback

-A while back

The need to unburden himself had been growing for a long time,
yet he'd always managed to resist the temptation. But Ranma
couldn't deny it any longer. He needed help.

The fight at Atlantis had shown him just how careless he was getting.
They would never have been able to capture him had he been paying
proper attention to his surroundings. Next time he might
not be so lucky.

And of all his friends, Erin alone might be able to understand
this emptiness inside of him that he could feel growing larger with
each passing day.

There was also the matter of Ishtar. What the hell was he
going to do with a Rune Weapon anyway?

-End Flashback

And now…

by Shade

Disclaimer: Yo ho, yo ho, A Disclaimer's life for me! Argh maties,
we be using these characters that be belonging to other people ‘cause
we're too lazy to come up with our own! (Ranma ½ and affiliates
are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Rifts and Phase World are
owned by Palladium.)

"We can proceed about our business."

You can go about your business.

"Move along."

Move along, move along…

3-G: The Season of Light…

"Irony is the Axis of the Universe."
—Aann proverb

-Ever Have One Of Those Days?

"This is Go Takarada of Action 5 news, coming to you live
from Juuban's commercial district where the Sailor Senshi have just
blown up an entire city block!!"

Upon seeing his chances for fame and fortune go up with a bang,
Takarada was, naturally, more then a little upset. His dreams of
an early retirement had vanished when that Sailor Senshi had blasted
his story to kingdom come.

"Only moments ago a battle was being fought between the Sailor
Senshi and a mysterious armored figure who had saved them earlier
from a horde of evil youma. But the reason behind their sudden attack
against their rescuer is a mystery, could it be that they're afraid
of a little competition?!"

{Goddamnit! So much for my "Knight Hawk" exclusive! Maybe
I can play up the fact that the Senshi are responsible for all of
this destruction. That's sure to make at least the six o'clock news.}

Nothing could have survived that blast. And since he was a pragmatic
sort…

"Or have these so called Defenders of Justice finally turned
to the Dark side? We will continue to cover this alarming situation
of "Magical Girls Gone Rogue" with further updates to
follow!"

Scruples and Takarada were like oil and water.

And his clichés sucked.

Meanwhile his assistant continued to keep the camera rolling, not
noticing that a stray bit of shrapnel had killed the transmitter
beaming the signal to the station.

Perhaps it was better that way.

The Inners could only stare as the settling cloud of dust and rubble
started to reveal a scene of total devastation. While ground zero
was still shrouded from view, what they could see wasn't very encouraging.
Pluto's attack had left nothing but rubble in its wake, every structure
in the blast zone had been completely totaled.

Apparently the Senshi of Time had never heard of a little thing
called "overkill".

Shock set in.

It started as a pulling emptiness in the pit of the stomach followed
by a glazed over look in the eyes of those who had seen their hopes
raised and then cruelly shattered. There were no tears; not yet,
at any rate. It had all happened too fast, their minds just couldn't
accept what they had just seen.

So for now, a blessed numbness settled over them.

It was times like this that made Urd wish she was allowed to curse.
Even at her most vindictive she had only wanted to teach that impudent
jerk a lesson, not kill him.

"Mara's going to pay for this."

What a waste. Come to think of it, that guy hadn't been really
that bad. He probably hadn't meant to grab her like that and he
had been trying to protect her (no matter how misguided that
protection might have been).

"I think there's someone still alive in there!"

An excited cry from her left derailed the goddess's train of thought.

"Huh?!"

Urd stared at her younger sister and the strange device that she'd
produced out of (their) Father only knew where.

"Skuld… when did you—? How—? He's still—? What?!"

"It's pretty faint, but I'm definitely getting a life force
reading. There wasn't anyone else there when it blew, so it's gotta
be him!"

"Before you start celebrating, sis, you might want to think
about them."

Urd gestured toward a exhausted looking Pluto and the struggling
Uranus and Neptune.

"Oh… right."

Her cheery expression dampened slightly upon being reminded about
the precariousness of the present situation. But that was easily
fixed!

"Skuld, put the bomb away."

Urd didn't even have to bother looking, she knew by now how her
younger sister's line of thinking worked.

"Spoilsport."

Reluctantly the petite little goddess removed her finger from the
detonator switch and tucked it back into one of her many subspace
pockets.

"Relax, just leave everything to your big sister."

Skuld's complexion turned blue upon hearing that dreaded statement.

"Now I'm worried."

-From the Journals of Erin Tarn

"What is the true measure of a hero?"

I have asked that question many times over the years. There have
many responses, yet not one of them is ever alike. Each individual
holds themselves to a different standard in their heart.

But Saotome's answer managed to surprise me.

For several minutes after I asked him that, Ranma remained quiet,
staring into his cup of tea as if it was showing him something from
the past that he could not forget.

I shivered when he met my gaze again. To this day I wish that I
had left well enough alone. There was such pain in his eyes, more
then any person should ever be forced to bear. For a moment I was
nearly overwhelmed by this glimpse into his very being.

So many shadows. I could not even begin to imagine what had done
this to him. It was the first time he'd ever dropped his guard so
completely in front of me. I guess that this was the first time
it finally sunk in that Ranma was just as human as the next person.
He just hides it better then the rest of us.

Even as the realization hit I could see the barriers falling in
place once more. The window into his soul vanished as if it had
never existed in the first place.

But the new awareness that I had of him did not leave me; things
had changed between us. We were still friends, but now there was
distance between us that could never be bridged.

Then he gave me a small sad smile.

"A real hero is someone that doesn't screw up."

"What do you mean?", I asked him. His answer didn't make
any sense to me at the time. Surely he didn't think that such perfection
was possible, and I told him so.

"We all make mistakes, that's part of being human."

But it didn't seem to help. The somber expression on his face didn't
waver. He was dead serious.

"A true hero can't afford to be wrong. Not once. Not ever."

So that was it. In a softer tone I asked him,

"What happened to you, Ranma? It's been two years since I
last saw you. But it seems that more time has passed for you then
me."

I didn't expect him to answer me, but he did.

"I'm tired Erin. I'm just so tired…"

He turned to look out the balcony. His friend's home was cozy but
by no means small. It afforded an excellent view of the surroundings
and the setting sun.

The sunsets of Lazlo are one of the most beautiful sights one can
see on Rifts Earth. Part of that attraction is being able to actually
relax and enjoy it, secure in the knowledge that the City of Learning
is one of the safest places in North America.

But Ranma had no eyes for the glorious natural spectacle taking
place outside. His thoughts were turned toward the past.

"I've seen too much evil… too much cruelty… too much hate…
too much pain…"

His voice was empty, and his eyes had a haunted look in them.

"And always Death. It follows me like a shadow, never ever
going away. So many friends, people I cared about, have died because
of me. No matter what I do, they die… and all I can do is find
the bastards responsible and make them pay. But it's never enough.
It won't bring them back."

There was nothing I could say, simple words of comfort couldn't
help him. It just kept spilling out of him, like a dam that had
been finally breached and would not stop till it had run its course.

"I hate having to kill. But I've become damned good at it.
Too damned good. And the worst part of it is that I'm beginning
to not give a damn anymore."

The tears in his eyes refused to fall. But I could see his body
quivering like a bow that had been drawn too tight from the pain
he sought to keep in control.

"Ranma…"

I was sure that he was being too hard on himself. The Ranma I knew
wasn't a killer, the only time he ever took a life was when defending
himself or others. He took no pleasure in it, he simply did what
had to be done.

"I've done a lot of stuff over the years that I'm not proud
of, Erin. All of it was in the cause of what's supposed to be right,
battling evil and injustice. But the dividing line between the two
has become so blurred now that there are times when I can't help
but wonder whose side I'm really on."

"Wha… what?!"

I couldn't believe my ears, but I could see that he wasn't lying.
The pain was being replaced by an empty expression in his eyes,
and it scared me.

Ranma had always been so strong, the person that could be counted
on when things got bad. But now he was here before me, on the verge
of burning out both emotionally and mentally. Never had I felt so
helpless, it hurt so badly to see him like this.

"I don't know who I am anymore and I'm starting to think that
I never did. There's so much darkness out there and the best we
can ever hope to do is check it in a bloody stalemate. I can't go
on like this, there has to be another way!!"

"You can't save everyone."

"I know. I thought I could make a difference, but nothing's
really changed. Sometimes… I feel like just giving up."

When I heard that I just couldn't help myself. I'd never been so
angry, and I slapped him. Hard.

*CRACK*

I regretted my action almost immediately. Ranma's face was much
harder then my hand. It felt like I had struck a steel wall.

"Erin!?"

The dark emptiness clouding his eyes vanished and was replaced
by a shocked and hurt expression directed at me.

Of course, I wasn't exactly keep much track of all the details
going on as I was rather upset at the time.

"Now you listen to me, Ranma Saotome! Don't you DARE take
that defeatist attitude with me! Just because you're not perfect
doesn't make you a failure! You say that you haven't made a difference.
Well, take a good look at me Ranma! YOU saved my life! And not just
once, but several times. Hell, you helped save this entire planet
from total annihilation at least twice!! I'll be damned before
I repay that debt by letting you snivel in fear like some coward!!"

He went from shocked and confused to just plain angry. I have admit
I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking at the time. When I look
back now all I can do is shake my head in disbelief. Ranma can have
that effect on a person.

"—What—did—you—call—me—?"

The glare he shot at me was hot enough to vaporize a SAMAS. For
once I was glad about that little quirk Saotome had about not hitting
women. I suspect that if anyone else had said that to his face they
would have had trouble trying to pull their ankles out of their
tonsils. I'm not saying Ranma is a violent person, for a person
his age he possesses a remarkable sense of self-control. But he
has very little tolerance for fools or troublemakers. Anyone stupid
enough to challenge his sense of honor falls into both categories.

So what did that make me at that moment?

Hmmm… better not explore that line of thought any further.

"A coward. If you're not one, prove me wrong!! Damn it, after
everything that's happened you just want to throw it all away?!
I thought I knew you better then that!! You may not care about what
happens to you anymore but your friends care!! I care!!"

There. I had said it. Now all I could do was brace myself for the
coming explosion. He had every right to be angry. But I wouldn't
back down. I believed every word I had shouted at him. The universe
would be a much darker place without Saotome in it.

"…I…"

His mouth stayed open but nothing more came out. A mask seemed
to slide over his emotions and I could no longer tell what he was
thinking.

Somewhere along the line Ranma'd finally managed to pick up an
effective poker face. It was a little too damn effective
if you asked me.

"Ranma?"

Finally he seemed to snap out of his little trance.

"Erin…"

Despite myself, I flinched. His voice sounded so soft, and it was
filled with an emotion I had never heard in it before. I was truly
afraid at that moment, convinced that I'd failed and he was going
to let himself be beaten by the ghosts of his past.

"Thank you. I needed that."

All I could do was blink. I couldn't even manage a decent 'Huh?';
you could have knocked me over with a feather at that moment.

Then he smiled. A actual honest to goodness, heart stopping, "Hoo
boy! I REALLY wish I was forty years younger!!" smile.

(*Ahem*. Sorry about that. But it's just not fair! Why couldn't
he have been available when I was looking for a man?! —Erin)

I smiled back as the Ranma that I remembered finally returned.

"So why don't you sit down and tell me what you've been doing
since we last met."

"It's a long story."

"Those are the best kind."

I started to brew up another pot of tea. If he said it was going
to be long that meant it could take four or five days before he
finished.

Heh, but at least his stories were never boring!

-All Present and Accounted For

{Let's see… that's 24 charged Energy-clips, one slightly used
Mantle of Displacement, 53 Class IV type fusion blocks, 247 socks
that don't match, duct tape, 6 modified Kittani Sentry Turrets,
that old HI-80 laser rifle he insists on dragging around with him,
a couple of spare parts for who knows what, one really beaten up
copy of the Book of Five Rings, more duct tape, and….}

Ishtar was busy taking inventory of the other items that resided
with her in the dimensional pocket. There wasn't much else to do
here and Ranma was always putting stuff here and forgetting about
it. So it was left to his partner to keep track of what he collected.
It was not a job for the faint of heart, there was stuff scattered
about as far as the human eye could see.

{Geez, where the heck does he find all of this junk?!}

A pair of white silk panties drifted past her position.

{And what the hell is THAT doing in HERE?!

It was followed by several other female undergarments, ranging
from "Skimpy as Hell" to "Guaranteed Nosebleed".
Ishtar could only recognize about half of them as having belonged
to certain "acquaintances" of her partner.

(He is so dead when I get out.}

That was when the explosion hit.

*KABOOM*.

The dimensional pocket shuddered violently as its connection to
the real world was briefly thrown out of alignment by the raging
maelstrom.

[OOF!!!]

The startled weapon was hurled into a pile of old scrolls and assorted
knickknacks. She bounced off of a very patched up suit of light
body armor and went into a uncontrolled spin.

[AAAAAHHH!!! WHAT'S GO-GO-GOING-NG-NG O-O-ON-N?!!!]

Thinking quickly, Ishtar erected a TK (telekinetic) field around
herself. It brought her to an immediate halt. Fortunately whiplash
wasn't something she had to worry about, so the sudden stop was
annoying instead of painful. Once the sword's position was stabilized
within the protection of the field, Ishtar's attention turned toward
the cause of all of this. Somehow she just knew that her partner
was the cause of all of this.

[HEY! What's going on out there?!]

There was no response.

[Ranma?]

Now she was beginning to get worried.

[Ranma?!]

Something was wrong. She should have gotten some kind of response,
even if it was only a mental brush off. The only reasons why she
wouldn't be able to contact him would be if he was unconscious,
inside a psionicly shielded area, or…

…or…

…if he was dying.

[Ranma!! I swear that if this turns out to be a false alarm and
all my worrying is for nothing, I'm gonna KILL YOU!!!]

-Ouch

{…}

Darkness. Void. Pain.

{!}

Sensations that had become all too familiar to him since he'd fallen
through the looking glass.

{?}

Especially the last one. Physical pain had always been a part of
his life ever since he could first remember. Ten years of training
had taught him the hurts that could be inflicted by fist, feet,
and words. Ristmoth had introduced him to the agonies of weapons
both ancient and modern as well as the horrors of magic and psionics.
But it wasn't until after his Transformation within the heart of
the Cosmic Forge that he learned the true meaning of Pain.

{!?}

The disorientation he felt started to fade as his mind eased its
way back into consciousness. It wasn't a very pleasant trip.

{… Did anyone get the registry number of that Star Destroyer?}(1)

Memories of the fight started to return. It was accompanied by
a splitting headache; his brain felt like was going to explode into
a billion bloody pieces any second. This was on a par with his first
(and only) hangover in the "Experiences I don't think I'm gonna
survive; Just let me die already!!!" department.

{Damn it, I can't believe I got my ass kicked by a girl… again.}

He cursed softly, then groaned as the effort made his head hurt
even more. What kind of an attack was that anyway?! And more importantly…
could he learn how to do it?

{Well, I'm not going to be doing much of anything if I don't get
up soon.}

Ranma's first attempt to rise proved futile. Something heavy was
pinning him down and for some reason he couldn't lift it off.

{Huh?!}

He should have been able to move whatever was lying on top of him.
It wasn't that heavy.

{What's the matter with me?! I feel so weak…exhausted….}

He couldn't see a thing either, and it was then that he realized
his tattoo's power had expired. But that didn't make any sense.
Like all experienced martial artists, his body kept precise track
of time's passing, and according to his internal clock he'd been
unconscious for only a few minutes. The magical enhancement should
have been good for at least another hour. Something was wrong here.

{Okay, no need to panic. First thing to do is find out exactly
what I've got left to work with and then go from there.}

A quick but through internal check of his status wasn't very encouraging.
His power reserves were much lower then they should have
been. Even taking into account the extra energy needed to activate
his tattoos, it still didn't explain why most of his available PPE
was missing.

In his current condition he just might be a match for that
Tux-boy jerk.

{Magga cammara (2), I haven't been this wasted since taking on
that Nightlord bastard…}

Just thinking about it brought up a whole bunch of really bad memories.
His stay there had nearly cost him his life, his sanity and his
soul. Mind and spirit had both eventually recovered from that horrific
ordeal. But without Erin Tarn and Ishtar, he would never have been
able to find the will to keep on going. He owed them both a debt
that he would never be able to fully repay.

But there was no magic in the Universe that could fully heal a
broken heart. Ranma would carry those scars till the day he died.

Which, if things kept going the way they were, might be sooner
then expected.

{Damn it all! I can accept dying for a good cause, BUT I REFUSE
TO GET KILLED BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THIS STUPID!!!}

In his anger Ranma found the strength to move. A surge of raw power
snapped through his muscles as he strained to shake off whatever
was pinning him down.

For a moment nothing happened. Then there was a creaking groan
as the pieces of roof began to shudder and give way. A loud crash
sounded as the remaining debris collapsed on either side of him.

{I'm free!}

But the effort had cost him dearly. Ranma could barely find the
strength to stand up. He was forced to lean heavily on the remains
of what had once been a wall. Even with its support he stumbled
twice.

{Kuso!}

Gut wrenching nausea struck as he finally reached a more or less
upright position. The unlucky Knight had to fight the reflex to
drop to his knees and puke his guts out. His sense of balance was
going crazy, the world kept dipping and swaying and spinning and
twirling with the occasional loop-de-loop for good measure. The
low pitched drumming that some sadistic musician was beating into
his eardrums wasn't helping him either. And it was getting a bit
chilly for some reason…

{Wa- wa- wait a sec. Why is it so drafty?}

Ranma looked down. His body was bruised and battered, but still
in one piece.

His Cosmic Armor on the other hand…

{!!!}

Now that was a totally different story!

All he could do was look down in disbelief at a lot of bare skin
that wasn't supposed to be exposed. There also seemed to
be a lot of little black bits of material scattered all around the
area. In fact that debris looked awfully familiar…

{*GACK* Th-tha-that's my ARMOR!!!}

She had blown up his armor.

She had blown up his COSMIC armor.

But that was supposed to be impossible!!

A CosmoKnight's armor was one of the best protections in the Multiverse.
That wasn't just an idle boast, it was a fact. Not only did it possess
the innate resistance to energy that Ranma himself had, it was also
capable of sustaining an incredible amount of abuse from practically
any source and repairing that damage within a few minutes.
Although some attacks were able to penetrate his armor, the sheer
power needed to completely destroy the suit was on a scale
that was simply mind-boggling!

{How in the Forge's name did that woman DO that?!}

Ranma shuddered to think of what could have happened had he not
been in his Cosmic form. Those dark fragments scattered across the
ground would probably have been bits and pieces of him instead.
As it was, enough of the blast had still gotten through to leave
him damn near helpless. Right now, all he was running on was plain
old fashioned guts and stubborn determination. It wasn't enough,
and Ranma knew it.

He couldn't feel the telltale tingle that was the usual indicator
of his armor putting itself back to rights like it was supposed
to. Nor was his own body recovering at its normal rate. While Ranma
could sense some life returning to the most damaged areas, it was
taking much longer then it should have.

That was an even more horrifying and unwelcome discovery than the
amount of damage the blast had caused. Getting severely injured
wasn't normally that much to worry about, it happened to him all
the time. But not being able to recover from those injuries in a
few minutes, now THAT was a problem!

{Okay, now it's time to panic.}

-The Deadliest Emotion

Sailor Pluto slowly sank to her knees in exhaustion; without the
Time Staff as a support she would have collapsed totally. Her reserves
had been virtually depleted by the enormous energy requirements
of the "Chrono Trigger" technique. It was easy enough
to make a hole in space-time and direct the resulting flood of wild
quantum level energies at the enemy. Usually no more then a few
seconds of exposure were needed to assure complete and total annihilation
of the target(s). The hard part was closing the tear before
it got out of control and ended up wiping out all existence within
several hundred kilometers. And she hadn't used this attack in almost
a thousand years, because it reminded her of… Ran.

Even millennia later, her memories of him remained dark and bitter.
She hated him more then anything in the Universe, there were simply
no adequate words capable of describing the sheer burning rage she
felt whenever she remembered the man who had gained her trust, stolen
her heart, and then cruelly betrayed her. Because of his treachery
a kingdom had fallen. Everything that she had fought for, all that
she had sworn to protect with her life and honor, gone. Her ruler
and fellow Senshi dead, along with over a billion innocent souls.
But what he'd done to her personally had been far, far worse then
mere death. That would have been a blessing compared to the fate
he had inflicted upon her.

Ran had left her alive, the only survivor of the once proud Silver
Millennium Empire. For that alone she would have seen him writhe
in agony within the deepest pits of the Abyss for all eternity.
Trapped within the Corridor of Time and helpless to intervene, all
she had been able to do was watch the horror repeat itself again
and again as the currents of the Timestream flowed endlessly before
her. It was enough to drive a lesser person completely insane, but
she had been denied the easy escape of madness. Instead, her shame
and guilt had grown until she now loathed herself almost as much
as she hated her betrayer.

Setsuna had learned her lesson well. Love was a fantasy for fools
and dreamers, she was neither of those anymore. Ran had destroyed
her illusions, all she had left now was this last attempt to make
amends. By ensuring the security of the future Crystal Millennium
Empire she sought redemption for her one fatal lapse in judgment.
It was her self-imposed penance. She would not fail Serenity a second
time. One way or another, this threat to the Princess and the future
would end, no matter the cost.

A single lonely tear ran down a face that might as well have been
cast in marble for all the emotion it showed. Only her crimson eyes
did any trace of emotion escape the control that had cost her so
much to learn.

"No matter the cost…"

-Be Afraid. Be VERY Afraid.

*CRASH*.

"What was that?!"

"It came from over there!"

The Inners snapped out of their trance-like states as if awakening
from a bad dream. Right now, they were willing to grasp at any straw
of hope no matter how slim it was.

"Can you see anything?!"

"No, there's too much dust!"

"If he's hurt I get to nurse him back to health!"

"In your dreams, Venus! He'd be in even worse shape afterwards!"

"You're one to talk, Jupiter! As I recall, you flunked
First Aid training!"

"Um, guys we have to find him first. Besides, I'm studying
to be a doctor anyway…"

"Hey! I have dibs!!"

"No, I do!!"

-Say It With Flowers

The Universe had an unwritten law concerning Ranma Saotome that
was similar in nature to the one it had concerning a certain blonde
Galaxy Police detective. Although the wording of that law was quite
long and tedious, what it boiled down to was "The given odds
for any event happening are no longer applicable when said individual
is involved".

Case in point. Having already sustained considerable damage to
his person from Sailor Pluto's attack, Ranma was now practically
helpless and it looked more and more likely that he would wind up
being fussed over by pretty girls yet again. This had happened
quite often back in the Three Galaxies and on Rifts Earth… and
Wormwood… and the Forgotten Realms… and… and… well, you
get the idea. Let's just say that Saotome was no stranger to the
horrors of being nursed back to health! It would be faster (not
to mention safer) for him to tend to his own injuries, and
if Ranma could have had his way that's just what he would have done.

Unfortunately for him, Fate loves to kick a guy when he's down.
It's one of her little quirks that tends to send most sane beings
running if they know what's good for them. Which is why people tend
to stick with Destiny, who is kinder and much more reliable.

So it was cruel twist of Fate (pun intended) that the first person
to spot him was none other then the only person there who was willing
and able to deliver some serious payback.

{There he is!}

Yes, Tuxedo-Cuckoo was just determined to make an already lousy
day for Ranma even worse. But then again, Mamoru Chiba could never
be accused of any of those silly things like fighting fair, respecting
rules of engagement, or not taking advantage of a clearly incapacitated
individual. After all, the best opponents to hit were those that
couldn't hit back.

Of course he just had to use the one item in his rather
tiny arsenal which was capable of actually doing anything. The rose
throw was cliché, annoying, and an otherwise stupid looking attack.

But it worked.

"YES!! I got him!!!"

Tuxedo Kamen would have jumped up and down in glee if he could
have found a dignified way to do so.

"You did WHAT?!!"

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus obviously didn't share his feeling
of accomplishment. The two Senshi made that very clear when they
kicked his shins with all of their strength.

"OWWW!!"

Then they got really violent.

Sailor Mercury sweatdropped before running out to hopefully fix
the mess the Caped Blunder had made of things. Minako and Makoto
would be right behind her as soon as they finished venting a little
post-battle stress and she wanted some time to attend her patient
alone. There was no telling what further calamities might
occur when those two tried to help.

Mercury was so caught up in trying to avoid attracting attention
from the others while making the best possible speed that she completely
missed Sailor Saturn's silent presence following right behind her.

-Oro?

Saotome normally liked roses. They were pretty, smelled good, and
really useful for when he was in a pinch involving women.
But he didn't enjoy it when one was hurled at his body with the
intent to maim or kill. And he really didn't like it when
that rose turned out to be a surprisingly effective projectile weapon
against him.

{SONAVABITCH!! I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance!!}

Ranma jerked backwards in agony as the razor sharp stem sunk deeply
into his already weakened flesh just past his collar bone. On a
scale of one to ten, this rated a solid seven on the Saotome Pain-O-meter.
It felt like he'd just been hit by a Hyper Grav-Cannon round, even
though the actual injury was insignificant. It was the enchantment
placed on the flower that was now draining into him which was doing
the real damage. Flashes of red and white briefly obscured the badly
wounded Knight's rapidly blurring vision as his sorely taxed body
fought a losing battle to stay upright and conscious.

"Some… vacation… this is…"

{And to think that the Forge said this was going to be a good chance
to relax and unwind. I should have seen this coming…}

Ranma teetered, then he slowly started to collapse. The last thing
he saw before everything went black was a generous amount of tanned
cleavage.

Okay, so even Fate can be merciful once in a great while.

-From the Frying Pan to the Breakfast Platter

"Woof!"

Urd had to scramble to catch the young man as he fell. She hadn't
been expecting him to suddenly come crashing down onto her like
that. At least he was lighter then he looked.

"This is your very cunning plan?! Just run in and grab
him?!!"

The sad thing was, Skuld had been expecting some kind of harebrained
stunt from her older sister. Just not this crazy!

"It worked didn't it? So stop complaining and give me a hand
here!"

Under other circumstances Urd would have enjoyed having a young
man's head pressed firmly against her ample bosom, but right now
she was too busy trying to keep her balance while holding onto the
unconscious stranger. He wasn't that heavy, but it was all dead
weight, which made holding onto him clumsy and uncertain.

On a more positive note, she was learning more about him now then
during the entire time he had been wearing that strange armor. A
pity that it wasn't all gone, part of his helmet and some
scattered half-melted bits that had apparently avoided the worst
of the blast were still obscuring most of the important parts. But
the goddess had still gotten a good look at him before he'd passed
out on her.

Urd liked what she saw.

Lean and tight in all the right places, not rippling with
bulging muscles in every possible direction like most of the Asgardian
Pantheon, but definitely packing some serious power. She was willing
to wager that if this guy were patched up and cleaned up a bit he
would be quite a treat for the eyes, among other things…

{Hmmm. Maybe I should just let him work his debt off.}

Her thoughts were interrupted by a warm stickiness soaking through
the front of her garments. Puzzled by this strange (but oddly familar)
sensation, she took a moment to look down. The first thing that
came to mind was "What a mess".

The second one was "Belldandy's going to have her work cut
out for her trying to get this stain out".

And it was one of her favorites too! She gave the offender an annoyed
look.

"You're going to owe me big time for this."

Fortunately Ranma was in no condition to answer her. His shoulder
continued to bleed like a leaky faucet as the embedded thorns tore
deeper at even the slightest movement.

{Don't you dare die on me!}

The brief feeling of possessiveness was noted and logged for later
contemplation. Right now she had bigger things to worry about. Like
getting the heck out of there before something else went
wrong.

It looked like it was time for "Urd's Super-Duper Clever Distraction™"!

"Uh oh."

Skuld eyed her now glowing sister nervously.

This was going to be bad.

"Hey, look over there!!"

Urd pointed at a spot that coincidentally happened to be the exact
opposite direction from where she was currently standing.

-Masaki household (Where Truth Is Stranger Then Fiction)

Washu snorted in disbelief.

"Oh c'mon! What kind of two-bit idiot would fall for that
old gag?!"

"Where? Where is it?! I wanna see!"

Ryoko, Minagi, and the recently recovered Ayeka all craned their
heads in an attempt to get a glimpse of what everyone was making
such a fuss about.

*KA-BOOM*.

The greatest scientific genius in the universe facefaulted onto
the living room floor and started twitching. Ask a stupid question…

-Ready. Set. Run away!

"Urd, that was so… STUPID!!"

"Hey, don't fix it if it's not broken."

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

But her big sister wasn't paying attention, instead she seemed
to be looking for something in the rubble.

"Oh c'mon… they can't all have been destroyed."

Then she spotted it.

{Bingo!}

Not the most ideal focus for a transport, but since this was an
emergency it would do. Urd grabbed her little sister, secured her
unconscious passenger, and got ready to skedaddle.

"Hang on, we're getting outta here!"

The young goddess blanched as she listened to the chant that her
older sibling was using.

She wouldn't!

Anything but THAT!!

Not the "Official Heavenly Sake Hangover Instant Transport"
spell!!!

"Wait! Wait!!"

Skuld shouted frantically as she struggled to escape before it
was too late.

"… She who parties and gets away, lives to get drunk another
day!"

Divine power surrounded them as the platinum bombshell finished
her casting.

"Aaaaa—"

*Insert Spiffy Goddess Special Effects Here*

The trio vanished in a swirl of white light. So did several scattered
bits and pieces of what appeared to be random junk.

-There's A Nice Bridge In Brooklyn Available For A Reasonable
Price…

The still smoking remains of what had once been a deluxe television
set tipped over with a loud crash.

Everyone that was still there turned back around.

"…"

A long silence followed. Jupiter was the first one to recover and
point out the obvious.

"They… disappeared!!"

A brilliant deduction by Venus followed.

"Gah! She tricked us!!"

A red faced Mercury closed her eyes and wished that the ground
would just swallow her up. She was NEVER going to live this one
down.

{I- I can't believe I fell for that!!}

Could things possibly go any more wrong right now?

Emergency sirens blared as a swarm of patrol cars came rushing
toward the scene.

{Of course they could…}

Since all the monsters were gone, Tokyo's finest had decided that
now was a good time to show up.

"Hey guys! Did we miss anything?"

"Whoa! What happened here?!"

Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon looked at the other Senshi curiously.
They looked rather surprised to see the two of them there. Okay,
so they were a little late. But the situation seemed to be
under control. It wasn't anything to make a big fuss over, right?

"WELL, IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME YOU TWO SHOWED UP!!!"

Sailor Moon might not be so hot as a fighter, but she knew how
to grovel at a level that put the "Crouch of the Wild Tiger"
to shame.

"AAAHH!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never be late again!!
Just stop making those scary faces!!"

Fortunately Mars managed to stop herself before she followed her
first instinctive reaction of hurling spirit wards at the terrifying
apparitions looming over her.

"We can assign blame later! Let's just get out of here before
something else happens."

That was when it started to rain.

"Doh!"

-Heaven on Earth (Or The Next Best Thing)

"Keiichi, you might want to back up a little bit."

"Why's that, Belldandy?"

"I'm afraid that Urd used one of the more esoteric Holy magics."

Keiichi looked properly horrified as he sprang back from the television
screen. He remembered the last big spell that Urd had attempted.
It had taken two weeks for the antenna to fall off of his forehead.
He still broke out into cold sweats whenever he saw a flyswatter.

Still, even that couldn't prepare him for what came next.

Three small sonic booms shook the temple in quick succession. Urd,
Skuld, and some half-naked guy who was bleeding like crazy from
a nasty chest wound came crashing out of a large crystalline gate
that appeared directly in front of him. A moment later the gate
imploded back into the nothingness it had originated from. Its passengers
were deposited almost exactly where Keiichi had been sitting before
Belldandy's warning.

"Wh- who is this?!"

"He's the one that saved Skuld's sorry tush, not that you
could tell by looking at him now."

"I said I was sorry for going out alone!

Hey! Where's Banpei?!"

A small downpour of robotic parts dropped on Keiichi.

"Ow! Ouch! Hey! That hurts!! Quit it!! Ow!!"

"Banpei-kun!!"

Crying with relief, the petite goddess grabbed all of Banpei's
components and disappeared into her room in record time.

"Don't worry my precious!! You'll be as good as new in no
time!!"

"Uh…"

Morisato rubbed a sore spot on his nose where a gear had bounced
off. He should have known that Skuld would be Skuld.

-Tendo Household (We Lower Your Property Values For Less)

To the casual observer everything appeared to be normal. Genma,
having already disregarded his son's warning to "Get off your
lazy butt and find an honest job for once in your life", was
playing shogi with Soun on the porch by the koi pond. Naturally
both of them were cheating like crazy, resorting to lame tricks
that even their much-dreaded master would have been ashamed to use.
Pathetic, but perfectly in character for those two.

Meanwhile, Kasumi was doing the chores, which the so-called "men"
of the house seemed to think were beneath their dignity or simply
beyond their intellectual capacity. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

Or so it seemed…

A closer look revealed that the eldest Tendo daughter was doing
something that could be considered slightly odd for her. Kasumi
was singing.

"I've been looking for this emotion,
Pure feelings hidden inside of me."

A genuine glow of happiness seemed to emanate from her as she twirled
through the house with broom and duster in hand.

"The harder I chase my dream…"

There was a light spring in her step, as for the first time in
her life the willowy beauty let herself picture a future where the
family she took care of would be her own.

"… the more I experience the time for smiles and tears."

It might be a little difficult at first for her younger sisters
to take over the running the household once she was gone, but Kasumi
was sure that they would be up to the challenge.

"I know that, but…"

A small feeling of doubt arose. Did she dare to leap into the unknown?
Could she afford not to try? Would there be someone waiting
to catch her on the other side? Or would she find herself falling
forever, helpless and alone?

To risk it all, or not at all.

"… sometimes I want to be more like myself and feel the
wind.
I want to find the future of no one else but me."

For a long time Kasumi had been following a safe and mundane road
in life. Now the way to a new path was being offered to her, one
that promised to turn her entire world topsy-turvy but at the same
time tempted her with a chance to fulfill a deep, heartfelt longing
which had remained buried and nameless for a very long time…

-The Cure Can Be Worse Then The Disease

"Move him over to the futon."

Belldandy was relieved to see that her older sister had already
started to apply a compress in order to slow the bleeding. Even
if she did look less then thrilled about having to use the small
remaining part of her robe that hadn't already been splattered as
a makeshift bandage.

{Darn it! I'm a Goddess of Love, not a field nurse!!}

Urd glared at the nearest conscious target for her irritation.

"Make yourself useful and hold him down. I need to pull this
stupid flower out of him."

Keiichi gave her a funny look in return. Hold him down?! She had
to be kidding! Just look at him! He felt like a twig compared
to this guy!

"Do I have to do everything myself?"

Morisato sighed in defeat, his head bowed in shame at having to
surrender so easily. It was sad but true; he was a weenie.

"I'm coming."

-Exactly 1 minute 32 seconds later (Or It Simply Sucks To Be You…)

Keiichi Morisato, perhaps the most lucky (or unlucky depending
at how you look at it) guy on Earth, was currently regretting that
he'd never taken the time to exercise and workout more.

"AAAAAAAA—"

He was also wishing that he had taken skydiving lessons.

*CRASH*

"—AAAAAAA—"

It was a good thing that the wall he went through was actually
nothing more then a flimsy screen divider, otherwise someone might
have gotten hurt.

*CRASH*

"—AAAAA—"

Well, it was only two screen dividers.

*CRASH*

Uh oh.

"—AAAAAA—"

*CRASH*

Oh dear.

"—AAAAAAA—"

*CRASH*

[How do I get into these messes?!!}

~~~~Two Seconds Earlier~~~~

"Be careful, this is probably going to hurt him a bit. Be
sure to brace yourself, he's kinda strong."

Urd had an infamous talent for understatement.

~~~~Back To The Predicament At Hand~~~~

"—AAAAAA—"

*CRASH*

This was so unfair! The most perfect woman in the world was in
love with him and he was going to die a virgin!

"—AAAAAAA!!!"

*Squish*

The realization that he wasn't dead started to slowly sink in.
With that matter settled, he proceeded to try and identify the puzzling
incongruity here.

{Squish?}

That was funny, he didn't remember putting such soft cushions in
this room. And warm too. How odd. For some reason they reminded
him of Belldandy, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out
why. They even smelled like her. A subtle perfume of fresh
baked cookies and spring flowers that he never got tired of.

"Keiichi?"

Uh oh.

A feeling of dread and foreboding™ started to creep in.

{Kami-sama wouldn't be that cruel…}

In retrospect, it was a really bad idea to open his eyes.

-Furinkan High (Where The Quality Of Education Is The *Least*
Of Your Worries)

The lunch hour had come and gone. But she still couldn't
find him anywhere. To say that Nabiki was more then a tad peeved
by this was like saying Tatewaki Kuno was only slightly less intelligent
then your average cucumber.

Ranma had been gone far too long for any "reasonable"
explanation. And despite Kuno's loud and pompous speech about how
he'd "driven off the craven coward like the sniveling peasant
trash he was", any student with more than two brain cells to
rub together knew better then to listen to him. Naturally the male
students on campus bought every word of it.

Even despite the fact that Kendo-boy was currently unable to stand
up straight without immediately going cross-eyed and clutching at
the Kuno family baubles.

{Where is he?}

And while she would never admit it (even under oath), she was starting
to worry about him. He didn't seem like the type to up and vanish
like that without a word to anyone else. Something was up. And whatever
it was, she was going to get to the bottom of it. There was her
reputation to consider, after all. Nobody pulled a fast one
on Nabiki Tendo.

It had been awhile since she'd faced such a difficult puzzle and
Nabiki could feel her insatiable curiosity start to lick its chops
in anticipation of the challenge to come.

{I must be out of my mind…}

Ranma might be attractive, but was he really worth the headaches
that seemed destined to accompany him?

{Who am I kidding? Like I'll ever get another opportunity even
remotely close to this one?}

Nabiki was not a fool.

"Kyyaa— *thump* —oww!!"

Her sister on the other hand…

"Give it up already, Akane! You're never going to be able
to accomplish a double spin kick somersault-flip with a butterfly
open hand strike after just seeing Ranma use it this morning!"

The judges were out on that one.

"If he can do it, so can I! I'm a martial artist too, you
know!!"

Nabiki could feel a headache coming on.

{Sis, you only shout that out to the entire world every couple
of hours. Maybe you should say it a little louder, I think a few
people in Antarctica haven't heard you yet.}

Why the heck was Akane so upset anyway? Just because someone else
had finally done something about the morning spectacle and
given Kuno-chan a much needed lesson in humility? Or was little
sister jealous about no longer having the attention of the entire
school anymore?

She tried to shake off the smug sensation produced by that line
of thought, but her efforts weren't very effective. There was just
something deliciously ironic about Akane being upstaged by Nabiki's
prospective fiancé.

{Well, as soon as I find him…}

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

{Watch out Saotome, you've just met your match.}

And she always played to win.

What she forgot to figure into her calculations was that even fools
can be dangerous under the right circumstances.

-The Stuff Dreams (And Nightmares) Are Made Of

CosmoKnights rarely dreamed. Their minds were restructured by the
Cosmic Forge, during their initial transformation, into an efficient
configuration that didn't require much to continue functioning.
Most Knights could go for weeks or even months without rest, suffering
only minimal reductions to their performance and efficiency. "Sleep"
for them usually consisted of nothing more then a few minutes of
simple meditation where the poisons and stresses that have been
built up by activity were purged by their unique metabolism. They
possessed a mind-body relationship that in some ways surpassed even
that of the dreaded Phase Adepts.

It was this control which enabled them to access so many of their
unique abilities. Their power of flight was governed by pure will;
a Knight merely had to concentrate and his body followed. Similarly,
their FTL capability was a product of mental discipline and focus.
Through meditation, a CosmoKnight's absolute mastery of each and
every cell of their body enabled them to temporarily transform from
matter to pure Cosmic Energy, capable of surpassing even the most
powerful hyperdrive.

One of the side effects of such rigid discipline was an inability
to naturally achieve the REM state necessary for dreaming under
normal circumstances. It was extremely difficult to relax their
self control long enough for theta waves to be produced. The closest
thing to real dreams that most Knights ever experienced was a kind
of "Zen" state where their consciousness received orders
and information from the Forge.

This particular situation was far from ordinary.

Ranma's ravaged system was busy trying to overcome the effects
of Sailor Pluto's attack that had irradiated his body with dangerous
and unstable quantum level energies. The effect was compounded by
the raw magic leaking from Tuxedo Kamen's sloppily enchanted bit
of foliage. Even the considerable protection granted by the Cosmic
Forge had never been intended to defend against such an unusual
combination like this. All it had been able to do, initially, was
keep the damage from spreading further; but nothing could be done
about the ice-cold fire that screamed down every nerve cluster as
millions of living cells were torn asunder, only to regenerate in
whole, only to be ripped apart once more. The cycle of death and
rebirth repeated itself without any end in sight, only the unceasing
pain was constant.

Even the strongest will could remain in control for only so long
under these circumstances. All that was required was the smallest
slip to achieve the necessary conditions. That chance came when
his body, instinctively sensing that further measures were needed,
slipped further into unconsciousness in order to initiate a desperately
needed healing trance.

Ranma dreamed. Through a haze of pain and delirium, he dreamed.

-Governor Ryga's palace (Firefight In Progress)

<BGM: Mad Machine (Bubble Gum Crisis)>

The Imperial Forces were putting up one heck of a fight. But then
again, the rebels wouldn't have it any other way. The hatred between
the two sides ran too deep.

"Squads 1 and 2, take point, clean out those hallways and
make sure those Imps didn't leave us any nasty parting gifts."

His sergeants nodded and signaled their teams to advance, the troops
used whatever scant cover was available as energy beams and solid
slugs hissed and screamed back and forth between the lines. Their
efforts were only successful part of the time. Several unlucky rebels
were hit on an exposed front or flank. Very few of them got back
up afterwards. War hadn't gotten any prettier in the future, only
more efficient.

"Squad 4, form up and protect the Resistance Leaders, we didn't
come this far just to lose them to some stupid private with shit
on his boots."

The squad's soldiers started to carefully pull back, each person
laying down covering fire for the next as they regrouped behind
the front lines. A fresh squad quickly moved to replace their positions,
though not without suffering casualties in doing so.

"The rest of you, let's kick some Legionnaire ASS!!"

"YES, SIR!!!"

General Skythe possessed that rare mix of charisma and brimstone,
which his troops would gladly follow into Hell itself if he asked
them to. Having lost his wife and only son to the Kreeghor's brutalities,
Dennis Skythe had dedicated his life to destroying the Empire. He
was a hard man, but fair in his own way.

"So which position should I cover, Grandpa?"

Skythe's lower jaw smacked painfully onto the cold permacrete floor
as he did a double take at the sight of his 16-year-old granddaughter
standing next to him wearing worn combat fatigues and shouldering
a laser rifle like she had been born for it.

"Hsi-Feng?! What the hell are you doing here?! I told you
to stay back at the base!!"

Heads were going to roll when he found out who was responsible
for this mix-up!!

"There's no way I'm staying behind during a major engagement
like this!"

Scratch that, he should have known that the little mule of a brat
would try something like this on her own. She had her mother's features,
but she'd gotten her damned pigheadedness from him. Dennis rued
the day he'd been forced to assume responsibility for raising her.
How the heck anyone back then had expected him to know diddly-squat
about taking care of a little five-year-old girl in the middle of
damn intergalactic civil war was beyond even his comprehension.
He'd done the best he could, of course, but as she'd gotten older
Hsi-Feng had turned into a complete tomboy.

Hell, she could use that rifle she was carrying better then most
of his troops.

That still didn't excuse her being here, though!!

"You little… don't you realize how dangerous this is?!"

{I swear that when this is all over, I'm going to tan her little
bottom so hard, she'll be standing for a month!!}

Although even that probably wouldn't stop her from pulling another
harebrained stunt like this.

{Goddamnit! I'm getting too bloody old for this!!}

"By all rights I should have you thrown in solitary with nothing
but bread and water!! But—"

"But you can't afford to detail any soldiers off from securing
the palace to escort me back to base, now can you?"

He glared at her.

"You knew."

Hsi-Feng stood her ground as she faced his stormy expression. They
both knew it was an empty threat, but he still had to try and save
face in front of his men. There really was no good reason for him
to send her back. She was just as qualified, if not more so, as
any of the other soldiers to be there.

"Just a logical guess."

A flicker of grudging admiration crossed his face, his granddaughter
might have many faults, but a coward she was not. The girl was going
to give him a stroke one of these days.

Unexpectedly Skythe felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. Where had
all the time gone? He could barely see any traces of that cute little
tyke who had laughed so happily at her "Gwamps Skytights"
in this hardened young soldier. For fifty years he'd been fighting
in this bloody war. During that time his duties had cost him many
things, but none of them were more painful then seeing the only
family he had left denied the chance to experience more in life
then just the battlefield.

Maybe… Maybe it was time to start thinking about Hsi-Feng's future.

But first he had one last promise to keep. Only when K’tarthkl’ppe
was dead would he finally be able to lay the ghosts of the past
behind him. It had taken over a decade of searching, but at last
the bastard who had murdered his son was going to pay.

"Stay close to me and for once, try to keep out of trouble!"

"Don't I always?"

She smiled back at him. For a moment he caught a glimpse of that
little girl he remembered in those laughing gray eyes.

A renewed sense of certainty filled him. This was why he was fighting,
for Hsi-Feng and all the others like her that deserved better in
life than this.

"ATTACK!!"

Floor by floor they cleared the governor's palace of Imperial scum.
It was hard and bloody work, the butcher's bill was going to be
far too high when all of this was over. They were winning, slowly
but steadily. It was only a matter of time. But every minute that
the battle continued increased the grim toll for Rebels and Imperials
alike.

{Damn this war and damn the people who forced us to fight it in
the first place!!}

Skythe hoped Ryga was pissing himself right now. With all of the
exits sealed off and the sky being watched by Rebel forces, there
was no escape for the tyrant.

He and Hsi-Feng had split off from the main group, taking a small
band with them to search for the governor while the others finished
mopping up the remaining spots of Imperial resistance. It was a
tricky business; they might be winning, but their hold on the palace
was far from secure. The Imps were still fighting for every meter
of ground that they took, but there was an increasing sense of desperation
in their resistance. The Rebels had cleared most of the main halls,
but there were still occasional groups lurking around that they'd
missed during the initial sweep.

To add to their headaches an occasional automated defense system
would still pop out in areas that the rebels had already secured,
they had few options except to always watch their backs. And until
their electronic-countermeasures teams went through this place there
was always the danger of stumbling upon a makeshift mine or bomb.

Dennis let his reflexes take over as he led his troops through
each room. There was no time for hesitation, no time to think, not
if he wanted to stay alive and in one piece. Rather then suppress
the fear that rose up in him, he put it to work for him. Everyone
got scared; the trick was not to let it cripple you at a critical
moment. All of his senses were keyed up, on the alert for even the
slightest hint of danger.

It was that alertness which saved his life.

Just as he was about to head back down one of the previously checked
side passages connecting to the heart of the palace Skythe caught
a flash of movement in the shadows. He rolled to the side, while
a quick snap shot took out the trooper lurking behind a life-size
crystal statue of the governor.

The acrid smell of ozone from his plasma charge burning through
the air had just reached him when a "colonial" laser rifle
blasted from his near right to take out the Imperial lackey who
had been drawing a bead on him from the other side of the
statue. Hsi-Feng's shot burned through the other Imp's faceplate,
which mercifully obscured the graphic demise of the being wearing
it.

Skythe spared a moment to give his granddaughter a look of irritation.
That shot of hers had been much too close for comfort.

"How about a little warning before you fire that damn thing?"

Hsi-Feng shrugged carelessly.

"Sorry, there wasn't any time."

But the impish gleam in her eyes indicated that she wasn't the
least bit contrite.

"Humph!"

Turning away, he performed a quick search but found nothing of
any real importance. It seemed that they'd just caught a pair of
stragglers from the main enemy body. But where had they come from?
The only ways out led back to the main hall where they had come
from. Skythe and his men had already searched this exact same room
just a few minutes earlier…

Click.

"What the…?!"

One of the wall panels slid inward at his touch.

"So that's how they got here."

Hsi-Feng ran a finger along the rim of the entrance, then tapped
the butt of her rifle lightly against the dark blue crystals that
were revealed. A thoughtful frown crossed her face.

"Looks like psynetic shielding. That would explain why nobody
picked this up earlier."

Skythe nodded in agreement. That was what he had figured too. Of
course Ryga would have taken precautions against supernatural as
well as technological forms of detection.

"It figures. Vermin will always have bolt holes handy in their
nest."

Her expression said it all.

"Let's flush this rat out."

-Smoke And Mirrors

Ryga's office turned out to be actually easy enough to find. They
simply looked for the biggest room, overflowing with extravagant
and gaudy displays of wealth and power.

But when they burst inside, the surprise turned out to be on them.
The first thing that hit them was the smell. The miasma of recent
death was strong, nearly a tangible presence in the room. It was
a stench of fear and suffering that could only be described as…
Evil.

Then they saw it.

Or rather, what was left of it.

The ghastly sight in front of them was enough to cause even professional
soldiers to recoil involuntarily.

Ryga K’tarthkl’ppe, merciless tyrant of Ristmoth, butcherer of
countless millions, the most despised individual in this region
of space, was dead. Murdered. And it did not look like his end had
been a quick one.

The taste of bile rose in Skythe's throat. Even in his most vindictive
moods he'd never imagined anything remotely close to this.

"Bloody hell! What's going on here?!"

-A Knife In The Dark

Guard duty is almost always a boring job, sorta one of those near
universal constants. What most people fail to understand is that
boring is a good thing. It's on those rare occasions when
something exciting happens that trouble starts.

Unfortunately, the unlucky rebels who'd been assigned to sentry
duty inside of the main computer control room inside the palace
didn't share this sentiment.

"Damn, I'm bored."

"Would you shut up already! It's not like your complaining
is helping the time pass any faster, you know."

"Okay then, let's talk about something else. How do you think
the others are doing?"

That question would never be answered, because at that moment the
two sentries finally sensed the presence behind them. As they turned,
their plasma rifles were just starting to drop into firing positions.

But when they saw who it was, they hesitated for a fatal second.

"You?!"

The sounds of a blaster firing twice in quick succession drowned
out any further speech. Both guards dropped like sacks of wet cement,
steam rising from the gaping holes in their chests, their faces
frozen in expressions of surprise and horror.

The killer regarded the corpses briefly, then dismissed them from
any further concern. All too easy.

A dark gloved hand reached out and pushed the body slumped across
the communications board to the floor. Sensitive fingers lightly
skimmed over the decorative red runes that seemed at first glance
to be nothing more then standard Imperial bureaucratic artistry.
But those who had built this device always had more then one purpose
in mind for everything they designed. One simply had to know where
to look. The symbols for "Fate" and "Destiny"
were found and pushed down into the board.

*Click*

His efforts were rewarded by one of the console heads sliding back,
revealing a previously hidden control panel. It didn't take long
to punch in the proper access codes, sending out a prearranged set
of commands out into a part of the continent that most people considered
the middle of nowhere. The figure slipped back through the concealed
entrance once the green light indicated a successful transfer. His
job here was almost done. Ryga had been successfully disposed of.
The signal he'd been instructed to deliver during the Rebel attack
was even now being sent. All that was left for him was to tie up
some loose ends.

The rest was up to the Empire.

-Elsewhere

Tucked securely inside a concealed bunker, obscured from long range
electronic sensors by the high metallic content of the surrounding
mountains, a compact and extremely powerful pulse transmitter started
to power up. Within mere seconds it reached full capacity and began
to beam a series of carefully modulated signals out towards deep
space.

-High Orbit, Rebel Fleet

"Commander, I just picked up a short high frequency transmission
burst from the planet."

"Source?"

"Unknown, it was too quick for me to get a lock. It wasn't
using any encryption that I could recognize either."

"Strange…"

"If it weren't for the fact that the burst itself was on such
a high energy wavelength, I would have thought it was just random
electromagnetic static from the mop up of the planet. But there
was definitely a deliberate pattern embedded in it, so that rules
out any natural cause."

-Phaseworld, The Seel's Whails

<BGM: The Cantina [Star Wars: A New Hope]>

It wasn't what she'd expected. Instead of being a dark and dirty
vermin hole, the place was warm, well-lit and almost cozy in a weird
futuristic sort of way.

"This is a Spacer bar?"

"What, you thought they'd be hanging out in some kind of sleazy
dump like in the movies?"

"Well, to be honest, yes."

"Actually, that's often the case. But the owner of the Seel's
Whails has a full set of house rules that she's good about enforcing.
Plus, this is one of those rare places where a civilized being can
get a decent drink for a reasonable price and not worry about getting
a blaster bolt or a vibroblade in the back, so the patrons tend
to try and keep it that way.

"I see. So who is "she"?"

"Miss Rairruk."

"Does Miss Rairruk have a first name?"

The guide shrugged.

"If she does, she ain't telling."

Katrina's eyes widened as she spied what was hanging on the wall
behind the main bar. Resembling a high-tech samurai, the empty Warlock
Combat Armor silently watched over the rest of the room. Suddenly
those last few statements made a whole lot more sense.

"Oh, my."

If even half of what she'd heard about the Warlock Marines
was true, then things were probably going to get very interesting
soon.

Their entrance had not gone unnoticed. Many sets of eyes had come
to rest on the newcomers. The pair didn't look like regulars. The
man might be from the Center but his companion was most certainly
not. It wasn't her exotic good looks, or the way she was dressed,
or even the fact that there was a Millennium wand hanging from her
belt along with several of the more dangerous techno-wizard devices.

She just didn't have the "feel" of a Spacer. This meant
she was either a potential client or really stupid. After
seeing her deliver a nasty but effective kick to the crotch of an
overeager pilot with more liquor in him then common sense, those
watching revised their opinions accordingly. Noting that the rather
large male humanoid failed to stir from where he lay in a curled
up fetal position after several minutes, the majority of the patrons
wisely decided to turn back to their drinks and other forms of exotic
stimulants. It was obvious that this one could look out for herself.
Those remaining were mostly hoping for some work to come their way.
Most of them didn't care who they worked for, as long as they were
paid on time.

But there were always exceptions to the rule. A pair of hooded
eyes paid very close attention to the unusual woman…

Their contact announced his presence with a low whistle of admiration
accompanied by his hands clapping in respect. It wasn't often that
he'd seen such a commotion dispatched with so little fuss.

"Not bad. I must admit that I was rather worried when you
two showed up as you did."

"Oh?"

Katrina assessed the man before her carefully. A mop of black hair
flecked with traces of silver, enough wrinkles to give his face
character, and his brown eyes had the mark of combat experience.
He wasn't young, but given the level of medical science available
here that meant nothing. It was interesting to note how well he
seemed to blend in with his environment, her gaze tended to slide
off of him if she didn't concentrate.

"You're not exactly the type of gal that blends in with the
local scenery. We've been keeping tabs on you since the Central
Checkpoint."

It spoke well for her credentials that she could take care of herself
so easily. If she really was one of Ranma's intimate friends,
that would explain a lot. The captain's taste in women was the stuff
of minor legend in the Rebellion.

Lt. Nicholas Croaker even had a few credits of his own in the "Saotome"
lottery that had started up a few years ago. Wagering on who would
be his next conquest was common but small potatoes, the bookies
had learned the hard way not to give anything but token odds on
that. The real money was in the "Who he'll finally end up with"
pool. The odds were long, very long. But the potential payoff
for the winner was incredibly lucrative, at last check the pot consisted
of enough credits to buy an entire planet!

Putting his dreams of a wealthy retirement aside for the moment,
Croaker gave his full attention to the woman before him.

"My name is Katrina Sun. I… I…"

Flustered, Katrina berated herself silently as she struggled to
ask what had suddenly become a most difficult question. Taking a
deep breath to steady her nerves, she plunged ahead.

"I'm looking for…"

He raised a hand to interrupt her.

"You want to know about Ranma."

"How- how did you know?"

"These days everyone wants to know about him. Ever
since he disappeared…"

The look on her face was absolutely priceless.

"He's gone?!"

Nicholas nodded. She must have come from somewhere really
out of touch if she hadn't heard about this until now.

"Just up and vanished somewhere among the Rim systems a couple
months ago. Nobody's seen a trace of him since. Not even his friends,
and if they don't know then it's a pretty safe bet that Saotome
doesn't want to be found."

Seeing that Sun was still stunned by the news, he tried to clarify
his words.

"Not that I can blame him. That poor guy has got so many death
warrants on his neck that even if they ever catch him, they'll never
be able to agree on how to execute him. He's probably just taking
a vacation away from it all. I know I would if I were in his shoes."

"Death warrants?!"

He was just about to answer her when all conversation inside the
bar came to an abrupt halt.

The Guide had been waiting patiently behind the pair as they conversed,
wanting them to finish quickly so that they could pay him and he
could get out of there. He turned to see what was the trouble while
praying that nothing was wrong. Then he froze as his eyes went wide
at the sight of someone he had always hoped never to see in person.

"Oh shit, not him!"

-The Scales Turn

Against all the odds, White had somehow managed to rally and now
stood poised on the brink of total victory. His forces had been
scattered across the board, and were now left in a last ditch defense
that was just waiting to be swept away.

"It seems that I underestimated you yet again."

His opponent had been very cunning in utilizing Ranma to cover
a devastating counter offensive. It was amazing how much trouble
even a replica of that boy could do.

Thoth contemplated Black's next move, his long fingers dangling
over one of his few remaining pieces as he searched for a way to
at least make his opponent pay a heavy price for victory.

{So few options left…}

"But wait, what's this?"

An opening? Yes, there was a single avenue of attack offered…
There! His dark knight struck down White's defender like an angry
bird of prey.

"Gotcha!"

The repercussions would soon be felt throughout the Multiverse.
Things were never going to be the same.

-Ristmoth System

Tania had been half-right. That transmission had been purposely
sent. But there were no hidden messages contained within it, the
transmission itself was the message.

In an asteroid belt similar to the one that had hidden the Rebel
invasion force from detection, the signal that the Untamed Stallion's
sensors had briefly picked up was finally received. Communication
lasers quickly spread the word to others waiting impatiently behind
the shielding asteroids. It was time.

To be continued

(1) For those of you who are wondering; Yes, he did actually
collide into one before. It was an Impstar II. (Imperial class II,
1.6 km in length. Ouch!)

Author's notes: Oopsie, this was originally planned to be released
way back in April. But the almighty Muse of writing has no respect
for deadlines. I must also admit that having to focus on school
and work doesn't help matters any either.

I didn't intend to break this up into two parts, but since I'm
going offline for a month and the second half is only 30% finished,
this was how it ended up.

My apologies to those who wrote to me and got no response, netaddress
lost some of my mail and when I complained to their service dept.
they told me that the data was unrecoverable. -_-'

Let's not even get into the eternal struggle between Windows and
Netscape that's been haunting my CPU…